First paper of the New Year on CRISPR-Cas in Insects from MOLEN!

We are happy to announce that our most recent paper, “the first paper of 2024”, has been just accepted for publication in “Insect Biochemistry and Molecular Biology”. The paper is on the involvement of , structural peritrophic matrix proteins, “peritrophins” in the defense against Bacillus thuringiensis and nucleopolyhedrovirus formulations in Egyptian cotton leafworm (Spodoptera littoralis) (Lepidoptera: Noctuidae). In the paper by Güney et al., we demonstrate that knocking out two peritrophins, namely IIM or PER, via CRISPR-Cas genome editing disrupts the peritrophic matrix and development of Spodoptera littoralis larvae. In addition, both peritrophins were shown to protect the larvae against Bacillus and baculovirus infections.  We also present the provision of chitin-binding agent Calcofluor (CF) in relation to Bt and baculovirus infection in mutant larvae. The paper was in collaboration with Dr. David Heckel (Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, Germany) and Dr. Dwayne Hegedus (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, Canada).  You can reach the paper here. Congratulations to all contributors in the paper and especially Gözde and Doğa!